Issues Facing Rural America
Issues Facing Maine
Thursday, March 12, 2010
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Short-Term Effects of Health-Care Coverage Legislation – Massachusetts, 2008
Health care reform legislation has had a positive effect on insurance coverage in Massachusetts
Health care reform legislation has had a positive effect on insurance coverage in Massachusetts
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Associated Press
Associated Press
Rural economic woes may provide opening for Obama
BELLEVILLE, Pa. (AP) - The folks in this picturesque mountain community with red barns and Amish buggies have been voting overwhelmingly Republican in national elections for decades.
But tough economic times here in Mifflin County and in rural areas all around the country have created possible openings for Democrat Barack Obama.
President Bush won nearly 70 percent of the county's vote in both 2000 and 2004, but the standard of living here has declined steadily during his administration.
The farm equipment factory that employed 500 workers here is closing. So is the milk plant. Farmers are facing skyrocketing feed and fertilizer costs, and gas prices are squeezing household budgets of those who now have to drive elsewhere for work.
BELLEVILLE, Pa. (AP) - The folks in this picturesque mountain community with red barns and Amish buggies have been voting overwhelmingly Republican in national elections for decades.
But tough economic times here in Mifflin County and in rural areas all around the country have created possible openings for Democrat Barack Obama.
President Bush won nearly 70 percent of the county's vote in both 2000 and 2004, but the standard of living here has declined steadily during his administration.
The farm equipment factory that employed 500 workers here is closing. So is the milk plant. Farmers are facing skyrocketing feed and fertilizer costs, and gas prices are squeezing household budgets of those who now have to drive elsewhere for work.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Grit
Grit
Fuel Prices Hurt Rural America
I was reminded today (as I pulled into the local BP to top off my old truck’s tank) that I had read a thought-provoking article on the expected downside of high fuel prices for small towns across the country. The gist of the report was that people will be less able to commute long distances to jobs in larger towns and cities, and that will, in turn, cause them to move closer to their jobs. The net result could be to further erode the already tenuous smalltown economy, and, ultimately, the rural lifestyle in general.
My optimistic side says the pull of rural living is so strong that people will figure out some way to keep at it. For those of us who do commute, we can carpool, keep our vehicles in top mechanical condition and modify our driving habits to save fuel today. And we can choose from among many fuel-miserly vehicles when it’s time to upgrade. I am holding out for a diesel-electric hybrid pickup myself, although I once owned a compact diesel pickup that routinely delivered over 50 mpg. It was a VW, of course.
I was reminded today (as I pulled into the local BP to top off my old truck’s tank) that I had read a thought-provoking article on the expected downside of high fuel prices for small towns across the country. The gist of the report was that people will be less able to commute long distances to jobs in larger towns and cities, and that will, in turn, cause them to move closer to their jobs. The net result could be to further erode the already tenuous smalltown economy, and, ultimately, the rural lifestyle in general.
My optimistic side says the pull of rural living is so strong that people will figure out some way to keep at it. For those of us who do commute, we can carpool, keep our vehicles in top mechanical condition and modify our driving habits to save fuel today. And we can choose from among many fuel-miserly vehicles when it’s time to upgrade. I am holding out for a diesel-electric hybrid pickup myself, although I once owned a compact diesel pickup that routinely delivered over 50 mpg. It was a VW, of course.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
High gas prices threaten to drain small towns’ populations
LEETON, Mo. | In this small town south of Warrensburg, directions usually begin with, “From Casey’s, you go …”
That would be Casey’s General Store, the only gas station in town. It’s where folks fill up while talking about goings-on, politics, weather and who’s got the best-looking tomatoes.
These days, they’re also cussing and shaking their heads about the price of that gasoline. People are doing that everywhere, but in small towns such as Leeton, population 619, it’s even more of a gut punch because nearly every working adult commutes to jobs elsewhere.
LEETON, Mo. | In this small town south of Warrensburg, directions usually begin with, “From Casey’s, you go …”
That would be Casey’s General Store, the only gas station in town. It’s where folks fill up while talking about goings-on, politics, weather and who’s got the best-looking tomatoes.
These days, they’re also cussing and shaking their heads about the price of that gasoline. People are doing that everywhere, but in small towns such as Leeton, population 619, it’s even more of a gut punch because nearly every working adult commutes to jobs elsewhere.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Media General News Service
Media General News Service
Rural leaders hope to hear more from presidential candidates
The rural vote could be pivotal in the November presidential election, but the candidates have yet to speak to the problems on most rural voters’ minds, say rural advocates meeting in Washington this week.
“There’s a deep frustration that whatever American rural policy is it’s not adequate at the moment,” said Dee Davis, president of the Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies and an organizer of the second National Rural Assembly, which has drawn about 450 rural leaders here.
The rural vote could be pivotal in the November presidential election, but the candidates have yet to speak to the problems on most rural voters’ minds, say rural advocates meeting in Washington this week.
“There’s a deep frustration that whatever American rural policy is it’s not adequate at the moment,” said Dee Davis, president of the Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies and an organizer of the second National Rural Assembly, which has drawn about 450 rural leaders here.
